Pascoe, U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,011, issued June 10, 1980, describes the formatting of sequentially stored text columns by embedding semaphore codes. Upon the side-by-side printout of the stored text columns, the embedded codes preserve a synchronous relationship between their varying line spacings. That is, a code character in line i initiates a memory scan to ascertain the existence of any counterpart line i to be printed from column 2.
Greek, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,852, issued Apr. 27, 1976, discloses a system having a keyboard and printer, a buffer and control, and a multicolumn playout control unit. During set-up, a tab field for defining the printing locations of the column, can be set up by operator key. The columns, which are stored sequentially, are printed out in a side-by-side manner, the beginning of each column being defined by the keying of a column begin code. In contrast, word processing systems where text stream input is stored and displayed, tables of multiple columns of text or data are formatted by an operator involving a displayable scale line on the system. The operator independently ascertains column widths and gutters, and then must count and enter the tab stops along the scale line.
Word processing is to be distinguished from text processing in both the kind and degree of facilities available to the operator. Text processing involves the use of a large capacity CPU shared among multiple terminals empowered with a text processor such as SCRIPTS/VS having rapid access to megabytes of fast DASD storage. In text systems, threaded data lists executed in SCRIPTS permits flexible operator formatting taking advantage of the sophisticated processing operations on list pointers and indices. To the contrary, word processing is focused on stand-alone terminals in which letters, small documents, and memos are processed by microcomputers interacting with limited diskette storage of 200 or 300 kilobyte capacity. The documents and pages are processed as end marked, semi-infinite, simply structured character strings with few embedded controls. The comparative absence of highly elaborated data structures saves memory but requires special formatting considerations, such as documents composing for tables and the like.
In the IBM Program Product "Document Composition Facility/User's Guide", Second Edition, April 1980, IBM publication No. SH20-9161-1, at Chapter 5, pp. 67-69, there is described multicolumn page layout for the SCRIPT/VS text processing system. SCRIPT defines a multiple column layout requiring operator specification of column number, width, and left margin position for each column. Thus, the prior art of intercolumn spacing is completely operator defined with limited, if any, automatic assistance.
In the co-pending Horn and Shipp application, U.S. Ser. No. 305,260, filed on Sept. 24, 1981 there is depicted a multiple text column formatting method executed in an interactive word processing system having a display screen, a keyboard, a memory for storing formatted information, and an intercoupling microprocessor. In the Horn, et al., type of prompting interactive word processor, multiple text column tables are formatted prior to text entry by invoking a column layout function mode. Consonantly, menued prompts prominently displayed guide the operator in order to structure the column widths and gutters (intercolumn spacing) by repeated keying of text characters or widths and then inserting space characters over to the next column position and repeatedly keying in text characters to define the widths of yet another column. This single entry line permits the column and gutter widths to be automatically aligned with tab stops. The formatted column example line is then vector encoded and saved. If it is subsequently desired to revise a saved table, its encoded format line is recalled, rebuilt, and then revised by entering repeated text and control characters to define an altered width of an existing column or a new column. In turn, the revised column example line may be encoded and saved. There is also provided an automatic one character wide gutter insertion when creating a new column to prevent the operator from failing to include a gutter after formatting his adjacent column.